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Volume 18 Issue 4 - December 2012

  • Text
  • Toronto
  • December
  • Theatre
  • Jazz
  • January
  • February
  • Arts
  • Symphony
  • Choir
  • Concerts

of the sessions and

of the sessions and after one particularly gruelling day of recording,we broke for dinner, the tired singers spilling out onto the street. As Iwas leaving, I noticed that Rutter was bent over the piano, scribblingintently on a piece of manuscript paper. As I left, I said a word to himabout the day’s endeavours, and he muttered a distracted reply.When we returned for the evening session,he presented the singers with copies ofa hymn that he had written while everyoneelse had been on break. While its derivationswere obvious — its melodic contour and structureechoed a couple of well-known EnglishAnglican hymns — it was a solid composition,fully realized, arranged and ready to record,written in under an hour.Since then, any time I’ve heard negativecomments about Rutter I’ve rememberedthat example of professionalism, techniqueand inspiration. Whether one responds tohis aesthetic or not, no one can deny thedeep craft imbedded in his music. Any composeror arranger who denigrates it mightset themselves the comparable challenge ofwriting an appealing melody, effective vocalarrangement and straightforward, heartfeltlyrics, even without a 60-minute time limit.It’s much more difficult to do well than itmight appear.Rutter: Here are some (but by no meansall) upcoming concerts that include worksby Rutter.On December 1 the Guelph Youth Singers perform “Winter Song,”a concert that includes Rutter’s Brother Heinrich’s Christmas. TheMississauga Festival Choir performs Rutter’s Magnificat on thesame day.On December 7 and 8 the Sound Investment Community Choir perform“A Christmas Gift,” a concert that includes Rutter’s Gloria. Theyare joined by the Trillium Brass Quintet. Markham’s Village Voicesperform this piece on December 1, Toronto Beach Chorale performs iton December 9On December 7 the Upper Canada Choristers’ “Tomorrow Shall BeMy Dancing Day” features Rutter’s The Reluctant Dragon, a Christmasfable based on a story by Kenneth Grahame (of The Wind in theWillows fame).True North Brass.And other concerts that will provide youwith a Rutter fix include:Vivace Vox’s “Songs of Light” and theGuelph Chamber Choir’s “Carols forChristmas” (both on December 2.) OnDecember 16, Toronto’s Church of SaintSimon-the-Apostle has their familiar “NineLessons and Carols” service. Other carol servicesand concerts are going on all over theregion, so please look at the listings for themany available options.Lyrica Chamber Choir of Barrie’sDecember 8 concert, “Let All Mortal Flesh,”features works by Rutter and Norwegian-American composer Ola Gjeilo, whoseaccessible work has become popular in theUSA, but is relatively new to this part ofthe world.And not: I am happy to note concerts bytwo choral ensembles that had previouslyflown under my radar. The Kokoro Singers,founded in 2004, perform concerts inAncaster and Guelph on December 8 and 9.The Volunge Lithuanian Choir, founded in 2006, performs a free concerton December 9.On December 15, the Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation hosts “CityCarol Sing” in support of food banks across Canada. The concert featuresseveral excellent ensembles — the Larkin Singers and the TrueNorth Brass among them — as well as a chance to hear renowned tenorRichard Margison and his daughter Lauren Margison, a notable singerin her own right.PETER MAHONSales Representative416-322-8000pmahon@trebnet.comwww.petermahon.com20 thewholenote.com December 1 – February 7, 2013

2013 concerts to watch for: Conductor and keyboardist PhilipFournier is making a name for himself as a purveyor of early musicin Toronto. A concert of music by Praetorius, Sweelinck, Couperin,Perotin (one of the earliest known composers of the European canon)and Palestrina takes place on January 12 at the elegant The Oratory ofSt. Philip Neri on King Street West.The Elora Festival Singers perform the famous unfinished MozartD Minor Requiem, K626, on January 20, for a concert and lunch eventin Elora.An opportunity to hear the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir takes placeon January 26, at the Choral Conductors’ Symposium concert. Thisevent is part of the TMC’s choral development program, in whichupcoming conductors get a chance to work with a large professionalensemble. It is a terrific opportunity for young conductors who oftenfind themselves bribing friends, family and viola players to musterenough of the requisite four sections to fill a living room. The event isfree to the public, and takes place at Yorkminster Park Baptist Churchin Toronto.On February 3 the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble gives a concertthat will include Serbian and Ukranian folk songs.On the same evening, different choral ensembles from theUniversity of Toronto join together to perform Beethoven’s Mass in Cand Brahms’ haunting Nänie.Ben Stein is a Toronto tenor and theorbist.He can be contacted at choralscene@thewholenote.com.Visit his website at benjaminstein.ca.December 1 – February 7, 2013 thewholenote.com 21

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